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DEA: cocaine flow unchanged
A previously unreported assessment by the Drug Enforcement Administration says the Trump administration’s months-long military campaign against alleged drug trafficking boats has not reduced the amount of cocaine entering the United States, despite the president’s claim that Operation Southern Spear has “virtually ended drug trafficking by sea.”
“US military strikes on small boats in Caribbean, Eastern Pacific failed to curb cocaine supply: Report Traffickers adapted to strikes by shifting to larger boats to smuggle cocaine into the US, Washington Post reports, citing DEA assessment Rabia İclal Turan 28 July 2026•Update: 28 July 2026 WASHINGTON DC A US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) assessment has found that the Trump administration’s months-long military campaign against alleged drug trafficking boats has failed to reduce the supply of cocaine entering the US, according to a report on Monday”
The Washington Post reported that DEA analysts found deadly strikes on small boats in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific that began last September did not reduce the supply or price of cocaine in the U.S., and instead led traffickers to adapt by shifting to larger boats and routes closer to coastlines.
The campaign has struck at least 67 boats and killed at least 221 people since it began in September 2025, according to the reporting.
Pentagon officials told the Senate Armed Services Committee that cocaine seized in the operation’s target areas continues to show high purity levels, an indicator that supply has not meaningfully declined, the report said.
The White House defended the operations, saying the measures “have not only eliminated narcoterrorists themselves, but also discouraged bad actors from trying to smuggle drugs,” according to the Post.
Balloon effect and legal doubts
A DEA official speaking on condition of anonymity told The Washington Post, “When you squeeze the balloon on one side, it always expands on the other side,” describing how traffickers find “weak spots and exploit them.”
The Independent reported that American military assets under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have struck at least 67 boats in international waters over the last year, killing at least 221 people, and that there are only nine known survivors.
The Independent also said the months-long attacks appear to have done little to combat the flow of illicit drugs into the country, raising questions about an operation that law of war experts say amounts to extrajudicial killings and war crimes.
The Washington Post reported that the president says Operation Southern Spear has virtually ended drug trafficking by sea, while Pentagon and DEA analysts concluded otherwise, including that the strikes have prompted criminal organizations to develop new strategies and tactics.
The White House’s public claim that “98.2% of Drugs coming into the U.S. by Ocean or Sea have STOPPED!” is contradicted by the DEA assessment cited by The Washington Post, The Independent reported.
What’s at stake next
The Washington Post said the assessment concluded the strikes have not reduced the amount of cocaine entering the United States, but they’re prompting criminal organizations to develop new strategies and tactics and undermining traditional investigative methods.
“The 67 attacks by the U”
According to The Independent, it remains unclear whether the military will continue the attacks, noting that the most recent strike was more than a month ago, on June 21, marking the longest break between attacks since the campaign started on September 2.
The Independent reported that the administration insists the strikes are fully within legal bounds, supported by an administration notice to Congress that the U.S. is formally engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels labeled “unlawful combatants.”
The Independent also cited a Washington Office on Latin America analysis saying, “They are murder under domestic law and extrajudicial killings under international human rights law,” and that the executive branch’s use of the “terrorist” label enables employing the U.S. military to target civilians.
In parallel, the campaign’s human-rights fallout is reflected in reporting that the United Nations and human rights organizations have labeled the attacks “extrajudicial killings,” with Human Rights Watch warning about “grave consequences” of Latin American countries collaborating in these actions.
